Blind Spots
by Celestalline
Summary: AU ZoLu Troubled past constantly haunting him, Luffy decided distancing himself from others was for the best. He didn't ask for some random stranger to start catching his attention, nor did he ask for that same stranger to start caring.


**A/N: **This is what you've been waiting for, folks! Well, at least I think it is. Nothing big or new happens in this chapter, as it is basically a rewrite of the previous one. I have the basic plot for the story written down, so maybe we won't have to suffer through a horrible hiatus again. Maybe. Also, if you're new to this story please keep in mind that our dear Luffy is horribly OOC due to past events in this fic, which will all be explained later. I'm considering making a writing blog on tumblr for stories/drabbles that I wouldn't post on here and it would also include vocabulary, references, resources, etc. so if any of you would like that just tell me.

Also, I may or may not need a beta reader for this One Piece story. Just know that the chapters will take time to come out, as you guys can see from this fic's long break. I'd like for my beta reader to be at least somewhat experienced, so if you're interested message me. Enjoy!

* * *

**Blind Spots**

- Written by Celestalline -

**Chapter One**

New and Old Faces

* * *

A bead of rain seeped through the window screen, landing on the face of a boy and causing closed tired eyelids to twitch.

_It was cold._

Hands grasped at the cobalt comforter in an attempt to shield the rest of the body not resting beneath the thick blanket. A content sigh passed through pale pink lips.

More freezing droplets of rain landed on the bed, moistening the blanket in uncomfortable ways.

Luffy opened his eyes to the raised window in front of him.

It was near-black out and the wind that blew faintly into the room chilled him all the way to the bone. Shifting black in the sky revealed the vexatious rain clouds that were causing his disturbed sleep; a jaded look was thrown at them. In the distance he could detect a dull clap of thunder. Rain continued to trickle down his window screen at a steady pace, the drops separating from each other and further wetting the drenched screen. A small puddle of rainwater had already formed on the sill under the window.

_A storm's gonna hit soon._

Taking one last long blink, Luffy pulled himself out from beneath the warmth of the comforter and out of the sanctuary that was his bed.

His cell phone rested on a small table beside his bed and, once turning on the blank screen, Luffy learned it was fifteen minutes after six.

The dressing process was both boring and depressing - Luffy hated _everything _about his body with different levels of intensity. His torso was bony to the point of unhealthiness and his hip bones jutted out against his near-sickly pale skin, almost looking as if they were about to tear through the soft flesh if he moved the wrong way. His legs, aside from being a shade of gross pale, were probably the only parts of his body he didn't feel like concerning himself over. Luffy had an entire different view about his his arms, though. Veins rested visibly against the transparent-like skin, making him feel like a walking corpse.

_Not to say I'm not one already._

If he lied still long enough who's to say he wouldn't be mistaken for one. He was almost certain people thought of him as some kind of teen-vampire-wannabe, as bereft of life as he was.

Luffy rubbed the scar under his left eye briefly, wondering if he could just wipe it away.

It remained.

Tight jeans and a thin, dark blue sweater that exposed his angular collarbone were the first wearable clothing items he spotted, so he dressed himself in them quickly before leaving his cold room.

The staircase in his house creaked each time Luffy took a step down; the noise seemed awfully loud to him in contrast to the deathly silent morning. There was no surprise in those noises though, considering the fact that his house was rundown and ancient, and nearly everything made a noise.

His feet hit the warm wooden floor downstairs and he momentarily relished in the feel of the wood under his clothed feet. The upstairs almost always remained at a frigid temperature since Ace tried to conserve most of the heat for the downstairs, their current income not enough to cover two sections of the house's heating. Luffy wished Ace could obtain a permanent, meaningful job that would bring them both enough money to live comfortably off of, but he also knew that Ace would be leaving for college in the city as soon as Luffy could care for himself, making the notion to find a better job ultimately useless. At least he brought in some of his own earnings, along with their foster father - they'd probably be living on the streets if it weren't for him.

A dim light was on in the kitchen and Luffy could hear his older brother moving around. The scent of brown sugar filled the air as he walked into the room, causing his empty stomach to do flips, either out of hunger due to him opting out of eating last night, or rejection.

"Hey, Luffy." Ace stood over the stove, holding a wooden spoon that was coated in a brown mush, a pot bubbling next to him. "Ready for school?" Ace's tone was mocking and a small smirk rested on his lips as he turned back to the pot.

Luffy took a seat at the table and unceremoniously dropped his head onto the hard surface. School was the _last _thing he wanted after his Christmas break.

"I'd probably be feeling the same way if I were you," Ace said empathetically, spooning some of the oatmeal from the pot into two bowls. He turned back to Luffy and set one of the bowls in front of the younger boy, sitting across from him. "Better eat up if you wanna have a nice day."

Picking himself up, Luffy grabbed his spoon and stuck it in the gunky oatmeal. "I don't think that'll make a difference either way," he said doubtfully before sticking the spoon in his mouth, taste buds hardly registering the saccharine flavor. He found the glob hard to swallow - maybe he was getting sick. Anything to get out of going back to school would be fine with him.

He learned that the food was hard to keep down. Maybe he was right about his stomach not wanting any food.

_Oh well._

"Oh come on, don't start up just because school's back in session." Ace said with a tone that suggested he wasn't being serious. Luffy wasn't stupid, though. He knew Ace didn't like it whenever he started getting mopey, especially since it seemed to be such a common occurrence. But of course Ace would never say anything to Luffy about. Oh no, Ace was way too nice for that, even if Luffy, to some extent, wanted him to.

"Sorry," Luffy mumbled around a spoonful of oatmeal, voice bland, lacking any real emotion.

Ace didn't reply for a couple minutes. Instead, he took a few huge bites out of his bowl, emptying it within a short amount of time. One look at the clock told Luffy why his brother was suddenly rushing.

6:45 stared back at him. His brother's shift at the café started at 7:00.

"Do you want a ride to school, Luffy? It's raining pretty hard out there and I doubt you wanna show up soaked." Ace picked up his and Luffy's bowls, which still had a remainder of the oatmeal that Luffy chose to ignore at the bottom.

He didn't want to trouble Ace and cause him to be late just because of the rain, but right before he could get the "no" out of his mouth Ace shook his head. "Pretend I never asked that, because you're getting one. Put on your shoes, grab your bag, and let's go." Ace grabbed his keys off of the kitchen pass-through sill and slid over it and out into the living room, not using the doorway as per usual. Luffy chose to take a small trip down the hall by actually using the doorway - he never understood why Ace liked going through that pass.

Ace was out the door by the time Luffy gathered his things and put on a warm black jacket and snug sneakers. He slung his bag over one shoulder and walked out of the house and into the cold morning mist. Barely any light shown outside since the heavy rain clouds were blocking his view of the sky, and the cold droplets of rain that hit him after he walked out from under the protection of the porch made him shiver. He could already feel the cold liquid seeping into the fabric of his jacket and touching the sweater underneath. He looked down at his hands, which had turned whiter due to the chilly air. His breath took on a misty form as he exhaled, and he watched the puff float around in the frigid air.

The roar of the motorcycle engine made him look over towards his brother, who gestured at him with his hand.

"Here," Ace gave Luffy the one helmet he always had strapped onto the handle of the bike. The other one resided in a closet in Ace's room and was only ever used if they were going to the city, for some unknown reason.

Luffy climbed onto the back of motorcycle and wrapped his arms around Ace's waist, checking that his hold was tight lest Ace become paranoid over Luffy's safety.

The ride to the school was only five minutes, but the trip seemed to be stretched out longer than that. He _really _did not feel like dealing with any people in general, and he _definitely _did not feel like dealing with a few specific people at his high school. If only Christmas break could last longer than two weeks . . .

_Maybe in a perfect world. _

Ace brought the motorcycle to a stop outside the gates of Grand Line Academy's high school section. He looked back at his little brother who was blankly staring at the ground, unaware of his surroundings. Ace wanted nothing more than to keep Luffy in his comfort zone at home, but he knew his brother needed to go back to school. Sometimes he hated having responsibilities.

"Hey, Luffy, c'mon now. You don't want to be late, do you? Not on the first day back?" Ace said teasingly, hoping to brighten Luffy's bitter mood. Naturally, that didn't work. All it did was make Luffy remove his arms from Ace's waist and lift himself off the bike, undoing the clip on his helmet and giving it to Ace as he distanced himself.

Ace kept his mouth shut for a moment, watching Luffy scuff the sidewalk with his shoe in strained silence.

A rock rolled away from the sneaker and splashed into a nearby puddle.

"Text me when you're on your way to the café, will you?"

Luffy nodded, lifting his cobalt eyes only when he heard the engine start back up again. Ace's anxious golden eyes connected with Luffy's before pulling away. Luffy brought a hand up in a slight wave as Ace drove off down the street.

Luffy knew his actions had upset his older brother and he felt a burst of guilt hit him. Ace was the only person keeping him grounded; he didn't need to push him away any more than he already had.

He walked away from his spot on the sidewalk with his mouth in a tight line, eyes downcast and entire body rigid, small piles of grayed snow slush the only things he saw.

Large mahogany doors rested at the end of the cobblestone pathway leading to the enormous white sandstone building that was his signature hell. Two similar, yet smaller buildings flanked both sides of the path - the right one was an office building, the other housed the gym, pool, and auditorium. Luffy preferred to never go into the left one. The excess parts of each building were painted a soft sapphire blue, easy on the eyes and giving the students an illusion of tranquility. Luffy paid the calming colors no mind while approaching the building, just as he paid no mind to the other students that walked along with him.

The common room was blissfully warm when Luffy stepped through the heavy wooden doors. He breathed a sigh of relief; he was beginning to feel numb from the cold.

"Luffy!" A shrill voice met his ears and he almost fell back in surprise. He looked up to see Nami, who had presumably been sitting on a cream-colored sofa, making her way towards him, scarlet-brown eyes bright and mouth set in a happy smile. Luffy couldn't help but smile back, always glad to see her.

Nami pulled him into a gentle hug. "How have you been?" his best friend asked before letting him go. "I haven't seen you since Christmas Eve! Did you have a nice time? Did you get a lot of gifts?"

Luffy debated on actually answering her questions after saying that he was fine, but another person interrupted them before anything else could be said.

"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp, drawing more attention to himself than need be, yelled from the balcony of the second floor. Luffy waited as Usopp bolted through the minor crowds of students to get to them. He hadn't had any chance to see Usopp over their break.

"Hi, Usopp," Luffy greeted his friend, the bitterness from earlier nearly nonexistent.

"Did you hear the news?" Usopp sounded as if he were about to burst from excitement. Nami scoffed.

"It's not like it's big news or anything. I'm not sure _why _Usopp is so hyped up about it." Nami informed him, voice full of exasperation.

Usopp glared at her, then quickly turned his attention back to Luffy, nearly bursting in his skin. "So, you wanna know about the news?"

Luffy merely shrugged. "I guess."

Usopp paused for dramatic effect, and then practically screamed.

"We have a new _student!" _

Luffy was fairly positive Usopp's voice rang throughout the entire common room. A few curious head turned their way before once again shifting their attention.

Nami let out an irked sigh. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she spoke, "See? No big deal. Usopp's acting like someone died." The other boy looked offended.

"Hey, we never get new students in the middle of the year like this, so it _is _big news!" he declared, eyeing Nami disdainfully. She disregarded Usopp and turned her attention over to Luffy.

"But Usopp's right, we do have a new student."

Luffy mused over this new fact. It was true that Grand Line Academy scarcely ever accepted new students in the middle of the year. The school was private and one of the most elite in the country, so some of the people who lived in Dawn weren't even allowed to attend. It costed more money than an average person could make each year, and Luffy merely got in due to the connections his family had with the headmaster. That being said, it would be extremely difficult for a person from elsewhere to get into the school.

_Whoever the new student is, they must come from a well-respected family._

"Have you met the transfer student yet?" Luffy asked them both, interest peaked the slightest bit. They answered his question by shaking their heads.

"Haven't had the chance. I don't even know who they are," Nami informed him with Usopp nodding alongside her in agreement.

The trio discussed a few more minute points involving the new student, then eventually left for the East Blue wing up the left staircase; the bell for homeroom would be ringing in a minute and they couldn't afford being late.

Usopp and Luffy had the same homeroom together, so Nami departed from them with a small wave of her hand for the next floor.

Luffy walked over to the corner of the room that housed their lockers and began putting his belongings away mechanically. He took his overly stuffed binder and history book out of his locker before snapping the lock back shut and moving back over to his seat. His homeroom teacher glanced up dejectedly before looking back down at various documents on his desk. Luffy barely ever heard any words come out of his teacher's mouth, so he was pretty happy about not having him for an actual teacher - just one of the benefits of being a smart kid.

He watched Usopp doodle something in his sketchpad for a while. The shapes his friend's hand were making distracted Luffy from the rest of the events happening in the room. Of all the little things in life, watching Usopp draw was one of Luffy's favorite pastimes. He knew Usopp would be going somewhere with his artistic skills, now if only he could say the same for himself.

Just when he thought first period would never come the crystalline tingling of the school bell tickled his ears.

Luffy met up with Nami at their Honors Trigonometry class on the third floor. The two passed notes back and forth throughout the entire class period while Kuro went over formulas on the bored, not even sparing them a glance. That was okay, considering Luffy didn't have much of a reason to pay attention in math class anyway. Art passed in a similar fashion.

Luffy only started involving himself when third period rolled around. Historical Research was one of his enjoyable classes, solely due to the fact that he _loved _history. All those wars and countries made his heart feel light. It was amazing how many things could happen on one planet over the course of a few thousand years. His unrequited dream was to travel the world and document every historical point on the globe with just him, a few journals, and a trusty pencil.

He also liked seeing Vivi in class.

"How have you been, Luffy?" His blue-haired friend sat down next to him, turning her sky eyes over to him.

Pushing his papers aside, Luffy talked with his friend for a while. Their teacher didn't reprimand them for it, though. No one really cared about education directly after Christmas break, and even if his teacher did Luffy knew his grades were too high for him to worry about.

His AP English and AP European History classes were the only others he really cared for, but by the time he got to AP Euro he was about ready to keel over from hunger pains.

Robin gave him a sideways glance but choose not to say anything, the knowing lady that she was. Luffy reread some of the section on the Italian Renaissance to keep his mind off food. Funny how his stomach worked - he was bulimic one moment and in love with food the next. Still, he was grateful his anorexia went away, else his ribs would be tearing through his pasty skin by now.

When the bell rang again he wanted to run down the halls, but that would attract attention to himself that he would rather not have, so he choose to walk at a moderately fast pace back down to the common room. Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper all loitered around on the sofas, obviously waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," Sanji remarked snidely. Nami elbowed him.

He finally entered the huge expanse of the cafeteria. A million different aromas wafted from the kitchen and he had to suppress a groan. Everything smelled so good! He made his way to the counter where the food was being served, pondering over his choices thoughtfully.

Luffy impatiently waited in that line with a tray he picked up. His expression changed, however, when he saw Carmen serving the food.

"Luffy! How have you been?" Sanji's older sister smiled wide, passing him over a wrap. He took it gratefully.

"Fine, and you?" he politely asked back.

Carmen sighed heavily. "I'm finally glad to be back doing _something. _I can only put up with Sanji for so long, you know." Luffy tried to give a small laugh in response. Oh, _he knew_. "The only bad thing about being back is that they have me working my hair off! Well, not literally, of course. That'd be unsanitary." She giggled to herself, mindlessly pushing a hand up against the wild poof that was her hair.

Once he got back over to the table Luffy took a seat between Usopp and Nami and tore off the plastic covering his food. His stomach felt like it was devouring itself with a strange new form of cannibalism.

"Nami, dear! Would you like some sponge cake? I made it earlier in foods class just for you~" Sanji presented a squishy yellow cake in front of the girl, offering her a charming smile as well. Nami took it delightedly.

"Thank you, Sanji. That's so nice of you," And while it was nice of him, he did this nearly every day at school.

Sanji wordlessly passed Luffy a similar piece. Luffy accepted the cake without speaking, insides twisting.

"So, Sanji, see that new student around today?" Nami asked offhandedly.

Said teen looked as if his visible eye was going to burst. Or catch on fire. Whatever meant that he was seething with barely contained fury.

_"Yes, _actually, _I have," _he spoke bitterly, eyebrow twitching. The others were afraid for him to go on. "I ran into him on the way to one of my classes. Fucking bastard bumped into me and didn't even bother to apologize."

Luffy wanted to smack him. "And what's so bad about that?"

"It's _bad _because it's _rude." _Sanji was an inch away from self-combustion. "As a matter of fact . . ." he trailed off, sapphire eye cast in the direction of the trash bins. Luffy and the others looked over to see what Sanji was signaling to.

Another student sat alone at a table surveying the cafeteria in apparent boredom.

Luffy didn't know that student.

That's when he figured out that the new transfer student was sitting at a table some ways away in his lunch period. _That _was him.

He looked like he was going to bomb the school.

But at the same time, he didn't.

The guy wore a plain white t-shirt with black pants and boots. Nothing off about that. His hair was a shade of mossy green, which made Luffy have to do a double take. _Green _hair? Okay, that had to be dyed. Three gold teardrop earrings hung from his left ear and they shimmered slightly in the light of the cafeteria. The only trait about him that made Luffy uncomfortable was his stare. Those eyes - apparently some shade of green from Luffy's distance - pierced into everything he chose to look at. Luffy felt like they could start fires if they wanted to.

But when those eyes turned to _him _he almost had a heart attack.

It wasn't anything more than an annoyed glance, but Luffy felt like curling up in a ball.

"I saw that guy earlier!" Luffy heard Usopp speak, but the voice sounded distant. "I have him in my ceramics class." His friend informed them of seeing the guy first period.

All Luffy knew was that he never wanted to see that guy again.

* * *

Since it was Monday, instead of having Library Aid, Luffy had to go to gym class, the worst of all his classes.

He walked out of the school building with an unpleasant bubbly feeling in the pit of his stomach. That new guy made him feel extremely uneasy, and Luffy didn't like that. Sanji had said his name was Zoro - only after scoffing, of course. Luffy felt that even the name was dangerous. But maybe he would be lucky and never see the guy for the rest of the day, or, better yet, for the rest of his life. None of his morning classes had Zoro in them, so maybe his afternoon classes would be the same. Well, hopefully they would be the same. He didn't need a new student to start victimizing him.

Speaking of victimizing . . .

Luffy's mouth tightened as he walked into one of the rectangular buildings flanking the school's other sides. He _hated _the gym. He wished he had access to a flamethrower, because heaven knows the gym needed one.

Well, _okay, _maybe ten.

That being said, he found no hatred in his being towards his overly enthusiastic gym teacher. Who always wore a speedo and got away with it . . . for some reason.

His teacher stood outside of the gym's doors, a clipboard in hand. "Yo, Luffy! You ready for a super day?" Luffy wanted to fall over and die, but he only smiled grimly and walked passed Franky.

The gym was huge. It could easily hold more than one sect of his school, no problem. The floor was a slick and shiny lacquered wood, the air always smelled fresh, and a high number of equipment was strewn out all around, offering the students various ways to entertain themselves. To Luffy, everything in the gym was satanic. He only ever involved himself on the gymnastic mats with a book in hand. Usually people left him to his own devices. Sometimes a certain few would decided that pestering him was funner than working out or playing basketball. Those guys could use a flamethrower, too.

Luffy walked into the locker room, still disappointed that none of his friends had been put in the same gym class as him.

Pulling off his jeans, Luffy quickly replaced them with a pair of shorts. He glanced up, ocean eyes wide, making sure no one, namely the jocks, were watching him. He hoped to avoid any taunts or jeers today.

Luckily no one was paying him any mind. He put his stuff away in an empty locker and sat down on the bench, debating on whether or not it would be a good idea to take out his phone. Franky stepped into the room a moment later, so he guessed that would have been a bad idea, but the idea that Franky would've scolded him for it was laughable.

"Okay everyone, listen up!" The talking died down at Franky's booming voice. "You've all probably gotten fatter over Christmas break eating all those delicious Christmas cookies, am I right?" He chuckled at himself, which Luffy found kind of odd. "Well, in order to get you back into shape, we'll be having a nice free gym period where I want you guys to pick an activity of your choice and play it to the extreme! Sound good?" Franky got some halfhearted cheers in return and that seemed to please him enough. "Alright, let's go!"

Everyone followed Franky out of the room and back into the gym. Almost all of them decided that a game of baseball would be perfect for this. Luffy didn't.

He wandered over to the gymnastic mats in the corner and sat down, staring at the ceiling blankly. Franky wasn't likely to deduct any points from his grade due to him not participating since he was actually friends outside of school with the teacher, not to mention that Franky knew all about Luffy and pitied him a lot in gym, which Luffy had conflicted feelings over.

The gym doors opened loudly and Luffy curiously looked over at them, wondering who would be coming in late.

Zoro walked in.

_Why._

Luffy felt his throat constrict. Zoro couldn't have . . . gym class with him, could he?

_Of all the classes . . . _Luffy watched the green-haired teen walk over to Franky. They left for the locker room.

_At least I won't have to see him._

Luffy diverted his attention to the baseball game going on in front of him. Shuraiya was currently getting ready to bat. Luffy bit his bottom lip. Shuraiya Bascùd was one of the people that never seemed to leave him alone. Past circumstances had caused that, and Shuraiya just would not let Luffy forget about those happenings. As if he ever could.

The pitcher threw the ball at Shuraiya and he, with one fluid swing of his arm, struck the ball clear across the expanse of the gym.

A loud cheer erupted from Shuraiya's team. The noise made Luffy want to barf.

The older student waved to his "fans" as he ran the perimeter of the diamond, a smug smile in place on those sinful pink lips.

As he made it back to home plate, Bellamy - another student Luffy hated - ran up to him and whispered something in his ear. Shuraiya's face broke out into a smug grin. Bellamy laughed beside him and, to Luffy's horror, threw a glance his way. Shuraiya placed a hand on Bellamy's shoulder and said a string of words that Luffy couldn't hear, then broke away from Bellamy and the growing crowd and walked down the gym.

Right. Towards. Luffy.

Luffy hurriedly looked towards the locker room doors, desperately wishing Franky would get done talking with Zoro and _come out already._

As Shuraiya drew closer Luffy realized that Franky would definitely not be coming out any time soon. This wasn't good.

The footsteps came to a halt and Luffy spared a glance up, ocean eyes meeting dark ones, their stare horribly captivating.

"Hey, Luffy. How have you been?" Shuraiya greeted him with fake politeness. Luffy gritted his teeth.

"Shuraiya."

Said student's expression seemed to darken a fraction. "Now there's no need to act so rude," Shuraiya stepped closer to Luffy and bent down somewhat to be on the same level as him. His voice was quieter when he spoke, "I came over here to see if you wanted to give me a little something for my victory."

Luffy kept down a sharp comment and replied with the calmest voice he could muster in the situation, "And what would that be, Shuraiya?"

The senior's eyes slid down his body and back up, and Luffy suddenly felt terribly vulnerable. He was wearing clothes, so why did it feel like he had nothing covering him? He went still, breath quickening, fighting the urge to hunt down a bulky winter jacket that wouldn't leave an inch of his skin visible.

Shuraiya considered the question for a while in fake contemplation, one corner of his mouth dragging downwards. "Well, there is _one _thing that I would like to have, but you don't have that anymore now, do you? Didn't you lose that almost ten years ago?" Luffy could feel his face growing geyser hot. He clenched his hands into two tight fists, grabbing onto the material of the mat below him. Shuraiya's lips curved upwards even further, knowing that he'd struck a nerve. Luffy didn't want to give him any satisfaction, but he couldn't control his breathing. His heart rate had increased rapidly and he was fighting to get it back down.

"What is it? You don't seem too well, Luffy." Shuraiya, mock concern coating his voice, placed a hand on the panicked boy's shoulder. "You can hold onto me if it'll make you feel any better."

Luffy did _not _want Shuraiya touching him.

"Get the _hell _off me!"

Luffy's hand had struck Shuraiya across the face before he realized what he was doing.

The slap was hard and loud, causing a majority of the class to cast curious looks back at the group in the corner. A bright red mark painted the other's cheek and Luffy had to admit that it felt really good to see a stinging hand print on Shuraiya's pretty face. Still, the deathly way Shuraiya's eyes turned back to him made him regret everything. What was he _thinking?! _He couldn't just do something like _that _to _Shuraiya!_

"I hope you know what you just did, you bitch." Shuraiya spoke through clenched teeth, turning wild eyes down towards Luffy, face comically animalistic as his lips pulled back in a snarl-like fashion.

Before Shuraiya could react violently the locker room doors opened and Franky stormed out, eyes pointed in their direction and entire mood darkened. For whatever reason Zoro was already out, but Luffy didn't think much of it. He was too busy thanking all the gods in existence that Franky had chosen to come out just in time, before things got ugly. And bloody.

Shuraiya backed off, but not without throwing a hateful scowl at Luffy, who pretended not to notice it.

Gym ended with him hurrying out of the building, desperate for solitude.

* * *

Luffy had gotten held up in Journalism so by the time he got his book bag and jacket out of his locker nearly everyone had already left the building. He suspected Usopp was probably waiting for him somewhere near the gate out front. He didn't want to keep his friend waiting for too long so he tried to rush down the halls as fast as he could. Just as he was turning the corner to get to the staircase he crashed into another student, causing both of them to fall back in surprise. Luffy hit the carpeted floor pretty hard. He winced when he tried to stand.

Opening his eyes, Luffy looked over at the other student who had dropped as well.

It was Zoro.

Luffy scooted back a couple inches, fear surfacing again. "I-I'm sorry!" he blurted out, the words barely articulating on his tongue. His throat felt dry and he wished he had a bottle of water.

Zoro scratched the back of his head, wincing slightly. The fall had made him bump his head off the doorway, which definitely was not a recommended experience. "It's fine, just watch where you're going." Zoro's voice was deep, but it wasn't as rough as Luffy expected it to be. He nodded in response.

Zoro finally managed to open his eyes. He looked over at Luffy, wanting to know who exactly had run into him. His movements froze.

"Aren't you that kid who slapped that senior in gym?"

Luffy almost gaped. Had Zoro _seen _that? "I, um, I guess . . . But how do you know about that?" Luffy couldn't help but be curious. Hadn't Zoro been in the locker room with Franky?

Zoro seemed to think that over. "I got done talking with the teacher and kind of lingered by the door, but I saw what happened over in your corner and could tell that other kid wanted to strangle you or something, so I got Franky out of his office." So _that's _how Franky knew to come out and intervene. Luffy couldn't help but feel extremely grateful.

"Thanks, then." That was one of the most awkward things to escape his mouth in a while.

Zoro shrugged. "It's no big deal." He got up and extended a hand down towards Luffy, who looked at it like it was a dragon. Zoro wanted to smack himself. "Are you gonna take it or what?"

Snapping back into reality, Luffy accepted Zoro's extended hand and lifted himself off of the floor. He couldn't believe that Zoro was actually such a nice guy. "Thanks, again." Zoro ignored him. He turned around to leave but Luffy, against his greater judgement, decided to stop him. "Wait!"

The older teen turned back, an expectant look in his emerald eyes. Luffy noticed there was some sort of metallic shade surrounding the pupils, which was kind of cool.

"U-uh, I was just . . . where are you from? Since you moved here, I mean. You have to be from somewhere." That sounded really lame, even to Luffy's ears. Zoro looked mildly tired.

"I moved from New York, but before then I lived in Japan."

_Japan?_

"R-really?" Zoro didn't look Japanese. Actually, he didn't really look like anything.

Zoro nodded.

"That's cool!" Luffy blurted out, then he quieted a second later. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

Luffy stood there in silence for a minute or two, not sure whether speaking would be in or out of place. He thought he'd give it another shot.

"Why'd you move?"

Zoro didn't seem annoyed by the questions, but he did seem bored. "My faster father, Koshiro, wanted to open up a new dojo somewhere since the one in New York had competition with other places. If you're asking why I moved from Japan, then I couldn't tell you why - I'm not sure myself."

Luffy took all the information in. "A dojo? Does that mean you can fight with a sword?"

"Yeah, I can." Zoro didn't understand why the boy kept asking him these pointless questions. He turned, once more, to leave.

This time Luffy let him go.


End file.
